Winter Farmers Market Set to End with a Sensation

If hints of spring have you yearning for a return to the farmers markets, but our April weather says you'll have to wait, there is one more chance to feed your desires for fresh, local fare before the summer markets flourish.

The Milwaukee County Winter Farmers Market is set to wrap up its season next Saturday with live music, giveaways and drawings, along with community and countryside purveyors who believe in growing locally, using ingredients from local sources and selling to local folks.

The winter market runs from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays from November through April. Typically held indoors, the last market day will take place outdoors in the parking lot of the Tommy Thompson Youth Center at Wisconsin State Fair Park, bringing its second successful season to a close. The market will not operate this Saturday because of the Easter holiday.

“We have about 29 vendors from all over southeast Wisconsin ranging from farmers and beekeepers to fruit growers, bakers and cheese makers,” said Deb Deacon, the farmers market manager. “Most use local ingredients and organic growing practices.”

The market is a type of incubator for local entrepreneurs, Deacon said. “Many of our vendors are just starting their businesses, and a farmers market is a good place to get the word out about their goods.”

The market reflects the season in which it operates. No, you won’t find vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes, colorful peppers or juicy, red strawberries – yet.

“At this point during the winter months, produce is limited; but going forward, farmers and growers are putting in hoop houses and using cold storage to meet the growing year-round demands of customers,” Deacon said.

The bounty of the market

Local food purveyors happily greet customers, offering delicious samples and talking about their passion for raising and growing food and/or making hand-crafted goods.

What would a Wisconsin farmers market be without aromatic, buttery, artisanal fresh goat and aged cow's milk cheeses? Saxon Homestead Creamery from Cleveland, Wis. produces and sells raw-milk artisan cheeses. A steward of the land and its livestock, Robert Klessig is a fifth-generation dairy farmer. The practice of rotational grazing ensures that his cows are feeding on the freshest grasses, producing high quality milk for the best cheese.

You may not find home-grown tomatoes at a farmers market this time of year, but Tomato Mountain Organic has captured their deep, complex flavors in various salsas, Bloody Mary mix, tomato puree and pasta sauce, all made from fruits and vegetables grown on the certified-organic farm near Madison.

Farm-fresh eggs and pastured poultry are always in season at this market. Dry-cured meat, farm-raised elk and pheasant and grass-fed meats such as bison from Lake View Buffalo Farm, a fifth-generation family farm in Belgium, Wis., and free-range, dry-aged Hereford and Angus beef from Ney’s Big Sky in Washington County are available here.

River Valley Ranch, the oldest mushroom farm in Wisconsin, displays boxes of plump, earthy produce, including wild morels. Using organic methods to grow fresh button, Crimini, Portabella, Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms, it also makes and sells relishes, salsas and sauces.

Wisconsin Soup Co. welcomes customers to its booth with samplings of warm soups on a chilly morning. Owner Steven Wenhardt handcrafts more than a dozen varieties of soups, like sweet pea with fresh mint and crab bisque, rich with Wisconsin home-grown ingredients.

Just across the way, Chef Caroline, owner of Eden’s Market, sells her specialty: raw food products. Fresh and colorful, her flaxseed crackers, vegetable crisps and granolas are wheat, gluten and dairy-free.

Richard Wittgreve stands ready to talk about Rolling Meadows, the sorghum mill he and his wife, Brenda, own and operate in Elkhart Lake.

“It’s the largest in the state,” Wittgreve says. “We produce one percent of the nation’s crop.”

Sorghum is a sweetener typically produced in the form of syrup – and so much more. Just ask Wittgreve. The buzz at the market is that he has the best caramel corn around. 

Breads and pies and cookies – oh my!

Farmhouse Bakery has handmade pies that are both delicious and beautiful with luscious, juicy fruit and golden, flaky crust. The bakery also sells traditional pastries from Clark Country and has organic pancake mix, noodles and eggs.

A favorite among market-goers is Aleka’s Kitchen. Aleka Tsioulos brings the taste of Greece to the market in buttery pastries and savory dishes from recipes that have been crafted and perfected for more than four generations.

There are honeys, maple syrups and candies to satisfy any sweet tooth. Blissful Bakery uses 100 percent organic ingredients when making its confections and caramels in creative varieties. Owner Rebecca Scarberry has paired up with local brewer Lakefront Brewery to bring together the perfect combination for a Wisconsin farmers market: beer and pretzel caramels.

It's one last chance to get your fill of local fare to fill the gap before the warm-season markets get rolling. The Tosa Farmers Market will open May 21.

The Milwaukee County Winter Farmers Market

Final Saturday of the season: April 30

Time: 8 a.m. to noon

Where: Tommy Thompson Youth Center (parking lot), Wisconsin State Fair Park

Parking and admission are free.